Melissa Adams is a licensed mental health counselor who has focused her career on eating disorders and the anxiety, perfectionism, and body image distress that so often come with them. For more than 15 years, she has helped adolescents, young adults, and adults recover from restricting, bingeing, and purging, with prior experience in specialized eating disorder treatment centers. Clients describe a style that is warm, direct, and free of judgment. She helps them understand what is driving their symptoms, such as all-or-nothing thinking or a persistent sense of not being enough, and build a steadier relationship with food, their bodies, and themselves.
Melissa sees parents as essential partners when a teen is struggling with an eating disorder. Through family therapy and parent coaching, she helps caregivers support goals such as weight restoration, overcoming food restriction, and developing a healthier relationship with eating and exercise, while strengthening communication and connection at home. She works closely with dietitians, psychiatrists, and other members of a client’s treatment team so care stays coordinated.
Melissa draws on evidence-based approaches including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Solution-Focused Therapy, and integrates Intuitive Eating principles where clinically appropriate. She earned her M.Ed. in Community Counseling from Kent State University. She is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York and a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, a National Certified Counselor, and an Approved Clinical Supervisor who mentors early-career clinicians.